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NXT kicked off with a recap of the two-night WWE Draft, and we headed for the first match of the night between Wes Lee and Drew Gulak.
WWE NXT Results (May 2, 2023): Wes Lee (c) vs. Drew Gulak - North American Title match
Charlie Dempsey and Tyler Bate were at ringside to support Gulak, and Lee and Dempsey got involved early on, letting Gulak hit a big sunset flip for a near fall. Wes was caught in a Cobra Twist but fought out of it before getting a dropkick.
Dempsey dragged Wes outside, and Tyler got involved and took him out. Back in the ring, Lee got an uppercut and a big handspring tackle, followed by the Cardiac Kick for the win.
Result: Wes Lee def. Drew Gulak to retain the North American Title
Grade: B
Women's tag champs Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn were in a short promo and said that they planned to leave NXT with the titles.
Trick Williams was out next and said that Bron Breakker's attack last week put Carmelo Hayes in the hospital. He talked about how he and Melo went to the same high school and had a lot of history together.
Trick said that he wanted revenge before Bron walked out. Bron said that he didn't want Melo to have the championship and accepted his challenge for Battleground. Breakker was walking out, but Trick called him out and wanted a match.
Bron said that he would fight on his own time and set up the match for next week before walking out.
Gigi Dolin vs. Jacy Jayne on NXT
Jayne got the first takedown before Gigi came back with a big boot and got a takedown and a near fall. Dolin sent Jayne into the barricades and the steel steps outside before Jacy was busted open and bleeding heavily from the face.
The two were fighting near the ropes, and Jacy drove Gigi's shoulder into the exposed steel before getting the pin. After the match, Jacy beat Gigi down and stomped on her head while taunting Dolin's brother, who was in the front row.
Result: Jacy Jayne def. Gigi Dolin
Grade: B+
Axiom vs. SCRYPTS on NXT
SCRYPTS attacked Axiom before the bell, and after the match started, Axiom took control. Axiom was sent outside before SCRYPTS got a big corkscrew flip and took him out.
Back in the ring, Axiom tried for a sleeper hold before SCRYPTS dodged the Golden Ratio. Axiom countered a 450 Splash with a superkick before getting the Golden Ratio for the win.
Result: Axiom def. SCRYPTS
Axiom helped SCRYPTS up to his feet after the match, but the latter went for a cheap shot. Axiom fired back with strikes of his own and ripped SCRYPTS' mask off before kicking him in the face.
Grade: B-
Fallon Henley and Josh Briggs were at their bar when Brooks Jensen walked in. Jensen was still apologetic for going against them, but the trio were back together. Jensen had picked up some business skills during his time with Kiana and even turned down some girls at the bar to spend time with his friends instead.
Dragon Lee vs. JD McDonagh on NXT
Lee was in control early on when Noam Dar came out with his Heritage Cup, and the distraction allowed JD to get in control. Lee dodged a slide in the corner, and JD went straight into the ring post before he was sent outside.
Back after a break, Lee got a big Rana and a dive to the outside before they traded chops on the apron. Lee got a knee strike before JD dropped him on the apron but hurt himself in the process.
Lee came back with a knee and a poisonrana in the ring before getting the near-fall off a powerbomb. On the top rope, JD got a massive Spanish Fly and a brainbuster. Lee countered the Devil Inside with a big suplex of his own.
Noam came in with a distraction and got taken out before JD got the Devil Inside and picked up the win. After the match, Lee attacked Dar and chased him off backstage.
Result: JD McDonagh def. Dragon Lee
Grade: A
Joe Gacy vs. Joe Coffey on NXT
Coffey was in control early on and almost got the win, but Fowler and The Dyad got involved and broke the pin. Gallus chased after The Dyad before Ava got in the ring and pretended to be knocked down, distracting the ref while Gacy came in with his finisher for the win.
Result: Joe Gacy def. Joe Coffey
Grade: D
Dani Palmer vs. Tatum Paxley on NXT
Newcomer Dani Palmer started off strong and got some reversals early in the match before locking in a side headlock. Paxley escaped the hold and hit a big suplex for a near fall.
Tatun went for a submission move in the ring, but Palmer got out of it and took Paxley down before hitting her with a Frog Splash for the win.
Result: Dani Palmer def. Tatum Paxley
Grade: C
With Andre Chase injured, Duke Hudson slowly took over Chase U and even thought about renaming it to Duke University.
Von Wagner showed off his old photos to Robert Stone, and they came upon some baby photos of Von, but Wagner refused to talk about them and walked away.
Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn vs. Katana Chance & Kayden Carter - NXT Women's Tag Team Title match
The teams started brawling before the bell, and Chance brought Fyre back into the ring before the match officially began. The champs isolated Chance early on, but Carter came in off the tag and sent the champs outside before the challengers hit them with big dives.
Back after a break on NXT, Dawn got a near fall off a double-team move on Chance. Katana came back with a codebreaker and tagged Carter in for a dive, but Alba broke up the following pin.
The challengers got another near fall off a double Spanish fly before Fyre used Katana to take down Carter. The champs took out Katana with a double-team move before Dawn got the win.
Result: Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn def. Katana Chance & Kayden Carter to retain the NXT Women's Tag Team Title
Grade: B+
Dijak cut a short promo, telling Ilja Dragunov that he was going to destroy him next week.
In the parking lot, Apollo Crews told Trick Williams that he had a bright future in NXT.
Indi Hartwell came out next and talked about her experience from entering NXT leading up to now that she was headed to the main roster. Indi thanked the fans and said that starting next week, there will be a tournament to crown the new NXT Women's Champion.
She left us with some words of advice before leaving the title in the ring. As Indi was headed out, Dexter Lumis came out from under the ring and carried her away.
After Indi was gone, Tiffany Stratton tried to swipe it, but Cora Jade grabbed it from her. The entire women's locker room showed up, and we got a huge brawl to close out the show.
Episode rating: B
We got some great matches tonight on NXT while Jacy Jayne and Gigi Dolin put on a brutal show.
